Transcript

After this we moved to Florence, Nebraska, joining the Saints in Capt. John Murdock's company traveling west.

While awaiting the time for departure, the Saints were all in a large log house very near the Missouri river, when a heavy wind and hail storm arose to such a degree that it fairly rocked the building. Fearing that it would rumble down on all of us, every one rushed outside and the lightning struck one of the men, by cutting his trouser leg wide open, but other than stunning him, he was uninjured.

Finally the Captain gave the order that the company would start and we were on our way. Upon reaching the eastern part of Wyoming, we experienced another bad storm, father and mother each had to support our tent covering, until the storm ceased, as the wind had blown it over.

We passed thousands of head of buffalo during our journey. Captain Murdock would order the company to halt, until they rushed past, as he said it was a bad policy to split the herd.

Mother kept a small sack always in one corner of the wagon box, it was my duty to keep this filled with buffalo chips for fuel, unless we chanced to find wood or timber, later it was sage brush that we used.

Whenever we came to a stream of water, there was always one of the men ready to ride his saddle horse into the river, if his horse had to swim, he would return as soon as possible, but if man and horse could wade all of the way across, the company was allowed to march on through. If he had to swim, we then made camp, some times for ten days making rafts or floats to enable everything to be taken over to the opposite side.

We arrived in the Valley during September 1862.